Copyright 1999 The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus
Dispatch
September 30, 1999, Thursday
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 8C
LENGTH: 572 words
HEADLINE:
HOUSE APPROVES BILL TO REIMBURSE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS FOR TRAINING
BYLINE: Mark D. Somerson, Dispatch Medical Reporter
BODY:
Dozens of children's hospitals
nationwide are a step closer to collecting government funds for training doctors
-- something adult-care hospitals have done for decades.
The U.S. House
of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday night that would pay $ 565 million over
two years to reimburse children's hospitals for training medical residents.
"This is good news,'' said Morna Smith, director of child advocacy and
community relations at Children's Hospital in Columbus. "To have the whole House
say it is a legitimate concern is something.'' A similar bill is being
considered in the Senate.
After graduating from college, medical
students pay tuition to attend a four-year school. After graduating from medical
school, hospitals pay them to train there.
The training, depending on
the specialty, lasts three to eight years and costs teaching hospitals tens of
millions of dollars annually. Getting some of that money back is a tricky
proposition for teaching hospitals in general and a particular problem for
children's hospitals.
A loophole in the federal
graduate-medical-education law keeps most independent
children's hospitals from being fully reimbursed.
How bad is the
disparity between adult and children's hospitals?
About 500 doctors
served residencies at Ohio State University Medical Center last year. For
training them, Ohio State received $ 25 million from the federal government --
about $ 50,000 per resident.
Across town at Children's Hospital, about
150 doctors trained last year. Children's received about $ 34,000 -- $ 227 per
resident.
Under the proposal, Children's in Columbus would receive about
$ 7 million a year. The hospital spends about $ 11 million a year to train
residents, administrators say.
"Financially, we are strapped on a
year-to-year basis to take care of all the kids in this community,'' said Keith
Goodwin, Children's chief operating officer. "This additional funding will give
us more flexibility to do more mission-driven things.''
About 60
independent children's hospitals nationwide train residents; six are in Ohio.
When the federal reimbursement plan was created, a number of sources,
including insurance companies, contributed to the pot of money. The main source
was Medicare.
Over the years, most of the other sources have dropped
out, and Medicare is left to provide about $ 7 billion annually.
Medicare patients are typically senior citizens who aren't treated at
children's hospitals. Thus, Medicare money used to reimburse teaching hospitals
doesn't flow significantly to children's hospitals.
Medicaid funds,
which are funneled through state government for treatment of low-income people,
also provide for graduate medical education, and both
adult-care and children's hospitals are reimbursed. Smith said those funds have
been cut over the years.
The bill passed Tuesday was one of two
introduced this year in Congress to provide a quick fix. Hospital administrators
and legislators are seeking a more-lasting overhaul.
The House and
Senate bills are sponsored by Democrats and Republicans. The House bill would
provide $ 280 million in the first year and $ 285 million in the second for
children's hospitals, including about $ 30 million annually for Ohio's
hospitals. The Senate bill would extend payments to four years.
The
funding would come from discretionary spending in the federal budget, not the
Medicare trust fund.
LOAD-DATE: October 1, 1999
